The Spiritual Person
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Important messages
My comments on the book of Galatians conclude with this article. I hope they have been of use to you...
Galatians 6:1-18
1. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any
transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
2. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
4. But let each one test his own work, and then his
reason to boast will be in himself alone and not
in his neighbor.
5. For each will have to bear his own load.
6. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with
the one who teaches.
7. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows,
that will he also reap.
8. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life.
9. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we
will reap, if we do not give up.
10. So
then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,
and especially to those who are of the household of faith
God is the God of restoration. Shall we term
restoration a second chance? My favorite biblical example of God’s willingness
to restore is that of Samson, after he miserably compromised his Nazarite
secret with a foreign woman, who immediately betrayed him. As a result, the
covenant hair of his head was shaved, he was taken prisoner, his eyes were put
out and he was made to grind at a mill. The next verse brings tears to my eyes
and hope to my heart: “But the hair of
his head began to grow again after it had been shaved” (Jud.16:22). As
simple as it is, I love this verse, because it reveals the nature of Samson’s
God. The Holy Spirit wants to convey the fact that He is the God of
restoration. The duty of the spiritual Christian is to restore a fallen brother
and to do so in a spirit of gentleness.
Works and Fruits
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Important messages
Galatians 5:13-26
13. For you were called to freedom, brothers.
Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another.
14. For
the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself."
15. But
if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
16. But I
say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
flesh.
17. For
the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit
are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from
doing the things you want to do.
18. But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The whole of the letter to the Galatians is a plea to
return to freedom, into which they were born and which is characteristic of the
true Christian life. God calls a people out of slavery into glorious liberty. The
point is not only that spiritual slavery is dreadfully bad, but that life in
the Spirit is joyously wonderful. In this section, Paul will show that the walk
in the Spirit is synonymous with freedom. The only people on this planet, who
are truly free, are those who have been born of the Spirit of God and whose practical,
daily life is under the control of the Spirit.
Liberty, Faith, Love and Truth
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Important messages
Galatians 5:1-12
V. 1-4 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand
firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2. Look:
I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no
advantage to you.
3. I
testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to
keep the whole law.
4. You
are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen
away from grace.
Warren Wiersbe wrote: "Sad to say, there are some people who feel very insecure with
liberty. They would rather be under the tyranny of some leader than to make
their own decisions freely. There are some believers who are frightened by the
liberty they have in God’s grace; so they seek out a fellowship that
is legalistic and dictatorial, where they can let others make their decisions
for them. This is comparable to an adult climbing back into the crib. The way
of Christian liberty is the way of fulfillment in Christ. No wonder Paul issues
that ultimatum: “Do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Take your
stand for liberty.”
What is biblical liberty? Once again, we have to be sure to obtain the definition from the Bible. It is something more than what the world would describe as liberty and it is also contrary to the world’s view.
What is biblical liberty? Once again, we have to be sure to obtain the definition from the Bible. It is something more than what the world would describe as liberty and it is also contrary to the world’s view.
Because the man of the world is basically egocentric,
liberty would mean to him a removal of obstacles, so that he can fulfill his
desires, ambitions, and bring himself happiness. It might also mean that, if he
is bound by vices and bad habits, he would seek freedom from them, in order to
enjoy himself on a much higher level. A higher degree of morality and decency
would win for him a greater respect and honor from his fellow man. However, all
of these goals are against the purposes of God and therefore, the liberty that
he seeks, is not that which is found in the Bible.
Human definitions take nothing away from the fact that
God is the God of liberty and offers, through the gospel, true freedom. Liberty
is the ambiance of the heavenly Jerusalem and it is only in that ambiance that
the new spiritual nature can develop. God’s freedom is absolutely priceless and
far beyond the highest value that we can put upon it. I appreciate Warren
Wiersbe’s comments throughout this epistle. Concerning gospel liberty, he says:
“Paul’s
doctrine of Christian liberty through grace is not the dangerous doctrine. It
is legalism that is the dangerous doctrine, because
legalism attempts to do the
impossible: change the old nature and make it obey the Laws of God.”
The Slaves and the Free
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Galatian 4:17-31
V. 17-20 They make much of you, but for no good
purpose. They
want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.
18. It is
always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am
present with you,
19. my
little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ
is formed in you!
20. I
wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed
about you.
Paul has just told of his relationship with the
Galatians from the beginning of the time that he came to them. On his part, he
had not originally intended to visit their area, but his infirmity was God’s
means to obligate him to stop there. Their mutual relationship became deeply rooted
in the love of God that passes understanding.
It was not natural love, for it manifested itself in
things that would naturally be repulsive. They loved Paul, in spite of his
physical appearance and received him as a messenger of Christ. And what was his
message? It was the message of the cross, “a
stumbling block to the Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Co.1:23). This points
to something supernatural and unearthly. Above all, their relationship was
based on eternal truth.
Now he turns to the new relationship, which has begun
between the false Judaic teachers and the churches in Galatia. The will of God
is not being fulfilled and no good will come from it. They have been attracted
and deceived through the ways, which they had learned from the world, and these
are the ways of the flesh. They have turned away from the spiritual, heavenly
ways.
The World’s ABCs
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Important messages
Galatians 4:1-16
V. 1-7 “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a
child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of
everything,
2. but he is under guardians and managers
until the date set by his father.
3. In the same way we also, when we were
children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
4. But
when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born
under the law,
5. to
redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as
sons.
6. And
because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!"
7. So you
are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Paul continues with the illustration of a
child guardian. This custom among the well-to-do Romans and Greeks serves to
show the purpose of the law and that of faith. It also shows that the spiritual heir belongs to the Father, even before the time, when he believes. His
guardian has a part in his life, the law doing its work through him, and brings
the child to see that he is a hopeless sinner. In time, he comes to a place of
maturity, that is, a place of more perfect understanding, where he can enter
into his inheritance.
You will notice also that
the father sets the date of his “conversion” from a practicing slave into a son
and heir. To understand this illustration is to understand the ways of God in
bringing His own into the gospel. There is no legitimate way to misinterpret
Paul’s point, in order to suit a conflicting doctrine, because he plainly
states that “in the same way”, every believer goes through a similar, spiritual
process.
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